


Hear Me

by Aelia_D



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Nightmares, References to past trauma, SFW Writing, barfights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 08:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16869799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelia_D/pseuds/Aelia_D
Summary: The big red Krogan has been drinking next to you at the bar for ages. One night, things are a bit different.





	Hear Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a response to a tumblr prompt post; "I need someone to hear me." except I took some liberties to make it fit.

You don’t know what originally possessed you to sit down next to the big red Krogan at the bar. It’s been a few weeks now, and whenever you two see each other, you’ll claim the empty stool beside the other. At first, it was always you sitting next to him, but now sometimes he’ll even come sit next to you. A small part of you celebrates that each time he does it. You’ve never exchanged more than a few words with him. A “how’s it going” or a “let me buy you another” and a grunt or two, in either direction.

That all changes one night when a bar brawl breaks out. Fists are flying, humans and aliens are trying to beat each other to hell. You’re in the thick of it, though you’re not winning. You’re pinned down by a turian and a human, and have just slammed your fist into the human’s face when the big red Krogan wades into the fray. He lifts you up, hoists you over his shoulder, and wades back out. Anyone who attempts to fight him is summarily shoved away.

“What are you doing, pipsqueak?” He asks when you’re outside.

“Getting my ass kicked, I think.” You say.

He laughs, and it’s a rough rumble you like. Big, rough hands gently touch the side of your face. You know it’s not going to be pretty tomorrow, but right now you’re drunk, and your system is full of adrenaline, and it doesn’t really hurt.

“C’mon. Station Security is gonna be here soon. Let’s get you patched up.” He gets you onto your feet and half-carries you back to his ship. You’re on board, seated on a table in the tiny med bay before you realize that maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

You slump against the medical bed, and he helps you sit up, so you slump forward against him. The bed lifts you high enough that when you lean against him, your forehead hits his chest. You sit there, just resting your throbbing brain-holder against his armor. His huge hands cup your shoulders, keeping you upright while the two of you wait for his medic.

“I don’t even know your name,” you mumble at him. Your head is throbbing now, as the adrenaline wears off, and the drinks you’d had right before getting into the fight work their way into your blood.

“Wrex,” he says.

“Wrex.” You repeat. You manage a laugh, just as the medic arrives.

With exactly the amount of professional distance you’d expect, the Asari takes stock of your injuries, scanning you, patching up what needs patching, and giving you pills and shots for the rest.

“Sleep it off.” Is her final word on the matter.

Wrex gives you a blanket, and gets you settled on the medical bed.

Gratefully, you let sleep claim you.

Only to awake an unknown amount of time later. You fight your way toward consciousness from the remnants of a dream that won’t let go. Your heart is pounding its way out of your chest, and you can’t catch your breath. It’s too dark in this room, and it smells too medicinal. You’re struggling upright, trying to get your feet under you when the lights come on to a dim setting.

“Woah,” the red Krogan says. Wrex, you remember. Wrex. “You’re safe. I’m not sure what nightmares are chasing you, but right here, you’re safe.”

He stays where he’s at, his hands held outward in a gesture meant to placate. You look at him, a huge war machine, trying to calm your nightmares. A hysterical laugh bubbles to the surface. Once it escapes, you can’t stop laughing. Wrex takes a cautious step toward you, giving you plenty of time to tell him to stop.

The laughter eases. He’s still moving toward you, slowly, carefully, his massive frame not making a sound as he shifts.

“I’m okay,” you say, and you both know it’s alie.

“Do you need a…” he seems to be searching for the word. “Hug?”

The laughter almost begins again.

“Yes but no? I think I just need someone to… hear me. To listen to me.” You say.

He nods, and sits near you on the medical bed, a little space between you. He’s close enough you could close the gap if you wanted. You don’t. Instead, you tell him about the nightmare. It’s left over from childhood, not something recent, not something you can change. You’ve talked to doctors about it, it just rears its ugly head sometimes.

Wrex just listens, letting you speak. He doesn’t make a sound, but it’s clear he’s paying attention to every word. When you finally run out of things to say, he doesn’t rush to fill the silence himself. He gives it a moment, lets it settle before he speaks.

“You survived. You’re still here.” He says. “You did good.”

You lean into him. He drapes his arm over your shoulders and pulls you closer. You let your head rest against his massive shoulder, and feel safe. At some point, you must drift off, because you wake up back on the medical bed, tucked in under your blankets. Wrex sleeps stretched out on the floor nearby, his head resting back on his hump.

When you shift to sit up, he wakes, and is almost immediately at your side.  He summons the Asari, who again checks you out, gives you a few more pills, and declares you “as good as you’re gonna get right now, the rest is just waiting” before she leaves.

“Can I walk you home?” Wrex asks.

“That would be nice.” You say.

“And maybe, when you’re feeling better, can I take you to dinner?” He asks again.

“That would be nice, too.”


End file.
